Wall frame construction apparatus

ABSTRACT

Rough wall frames for building erection are constructed by a nailing apparatus which is supported on an elongate plate and elongate sole which are to form a portion of the rough wall frame. The nailing apparatus supported on the plate and sole is moved therealong while driving nails through the plate and sole into the ends of studs positioned therebetween, thereby securing the plate, sole and studs together into the wall frame.

[ 1 May 22, 1973 United States Patent [191 Abernathy 3,629,931 12/1971 Stanley....................m. ...227/l52X [54] WALL FRAME CONSTRUCTION APPARATUS Primary ExaminerGranville Y. Custer, Jr. [76] Inventor: William D. Abernathy, Route 2,

Vale, NC. 28168 Feb. 16, 1971 Appl. No.: 115,463

Attorney-Parrott, Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson [22] Filed: ABSTRACT [21] Rough wall frames for building erection are constructed by a nailing apparatus which is supported on an elongate plate and elongate sole which are to form a portion of the rough wall frame. The nailing apparatus supported on the plate and sole is moved [52] US. ....227/11l, 227/152 [51] Int. Cl. ....B27f 7/02 227/l07 110 111 therealong while driving nails through the plate and 227,152 sole into the ends of studs positioned therebetween, thereby securing the plate, sole and studs together into the wall frame.

[58] Field of Search.............

References Cited 7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,112,105 11/1963 Keller...............................227/l52X Patented May 22, 1973 5 Sheets-Sheet l Patented May 22, 1973 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 22, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Su PPLY WALL FRAME CONSTRUCTION APPARATUS Buildings of frame construction typically have heretofore been erected on site with stick by stick practices. One method of constructed rough wall frames, known as the platform or western framing method, has now been adapted to prefabrication of components for buildings and to the construction of modular housing such as mobile homes. In the platform or western framing method, a wooden stud wall frame is constructed by using studs of the length desired for the height of a single story and connecting the studs with an elongate member across the bottom (known as a sole) and an elongate member across the top (known as a plate). In conventional stick by stick onsite construction, such a rough wall frame is initially assembled in a horizontal position on the platform furnished by subflooring of the building, and is then tilted to a vertical position to form an external or partition wall for the building In adapting the platform or western framing method to prefabrication or modular construction, it has become conventional to assemble a rough wall frame at a factory location by arranging studs, plates and soles in horizontal relation and nailing these elements into the wall frame. The assembled rough wall frame is then transported bodily to the location of the building foundation (be that a conventional foundation or a wheeled trailer frame) and mounted to the desired vertical position. Such factory assembly of rough wall frames has heretofore been expedited by cooperating arrangements of a table for supporting the plate, sole and studs in horizontal position and a bridge structure substantiallyencircling the table and movable along floor mounted track relative to the table. Power nailers mounted on the bridge drive nails into plates, soles and studs clamped into place on the table, in order to assemble those elements into rough wall frames.

As will be readily understood, the method of constructing rough wall frames using floor supported apparatus of the type described immediately above has limits imposed by the physical facilities required and the capital expense of such facilities. In particular, sufficient factory space must be set aside for the permanent installation of floor track for receiving the apparatus, and accurate alignment of the apparatus relative to the table encircled thereby must be maintained. The floor space thus dedicated to the table and bridge structure is not susceptible to other use, just as the bridge and power nailers cannot be used at any plant location not so equipped. Further, the investment required to maintain the necessary factory space and obtain the apparatus is relatively high.

It is an object of the present invention to construct rough wall frames for building construction through the employment of an apparatus having wheel means for engaging an elongate plate and an elongate sole and for supporting the apparatus on the plate and sole. By accomplishing support of the apparatus independent of any floor mounted track, the apparatus is free for use at any location within a factory or on a job site where plates, soles and studs may be arranged in the desired relation for assembly into a rough wall frame.

Some of the objects and advantages of the invention having been stated, others will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which the present invention and showing the apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating another portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view, in partial section, illustrating certain elements of the apparatus of FIGS. 13;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, illustrating an alternative position of the elements illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of that portion of the apparatus of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, taken generally as indicated by the line 6-6 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an elevation view, in partial section, taken as indicated by the line 7-7 in FIG. 4, and

FIG. 8 is a schematic pressure fluid circuit diagram illustrating the supply of pressure fluid to certain elements of the apparatus of FIGS. 1-7.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the apparatus of the present invention will be disclosed hereinafter with detailed reference to an illustrative embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1-8. At the outset, it is to be recognized that the illustrated embodiment, while illustrative of a preferred form for the apparatus of this invention, is to be interrupted broadly as an illustration of the present invention. As illustrated, a nailing apparatus generally indicated by the reference character 10 is used in conjunction with a supporting table 11 in assembling an elongate plate 12, an elongate sole 13, and a plurality of studs 14 into a rough wall frame.

In practicing the method of the present invention, a plurality of studs 14 are arranged in horizontal, parallel, spaced relation on a work surface of the table 11. An elongate plate 12 and an elongate sole 13 are then arranged on the work surface of the table 11 in horizontal, parallel spaced relation perpendicular to the studs 14 and extending adjacent the opposite ends thereof (FIG. 1). The nailing apparatus 10 is then supported on the plate 12 and sole 13 for movement therealong, as will be disclosed more fully hereinafter. The nailing apparatus 10 is moved along the plate 12 and sole 13 while driving nails N through the plate and sole into the ends of the studs for securing the plate, sole and studs together into the wall frame.

The apparatus 10 broadly comprises a main frame including at least one elongate member 20 for transversely overlying the lumber elements being assembled into the frame wall. Preferably, the elongate member 20 is a pipe having opposite end portions thereof sealed, in order that the pipe 20 may serve as a manifold for the distribution of pressure fluid as disclosed hereinafter. Wheel means are provided on the main frame for engaging the elongate plate 12 and the elongate sole 13 for supporting the main frame on the plate and sole. Preferably, the wheel means are in the form of a plurality of rotatable members 21, 22, 23, 24 depending from opposite end portions of the elongate member 20 for engaging oppositely directed faces of the plate 12 and sole 13 in areas generally aligned with a stud being nailed, as disclosed more fully hereinafter. Preferably, each end portion of the elongate member 20 has a crossbar 27, 28 secured thereto, from which secondary main frame members 29, 30, 31, 32 extend generally parallel to the elongate transverse member 22. Outboard free ends of the secondary frame members 29, 30, 31, 32 are bent downwardly to receive mounting shafts for the rotatable members 21, 22, 23, 24 defining axes of rotation therefor.

Preferably, the angle of disposition of the rotatable members 21, 22, 23, 24 and the construction thereof are such that the wheel means cooperate with the main frame of the apparatus 10 for restraining the plate 12, sole 13 and studs 14 in the arranged positions during the driving of nails. In particular, each of the rotatable members 21, 22, 23, 24 desirably includes an outboard flange portion, an inboard flange portion, and a barrel portion therebetween (FIGS. 2, 3 and When in contact with one of the plate 12 and sole 13, the inboard flange engages the upper face thereof, the outboard flange engages the outer face thereof, and barrel portion engages the edge bounding those faces (FIG. 5).

In order to drive the nails through the plate 12, sole 13 and studs 14, the embodiment of the apparatus includes a first power nailer 40 and a second power nailer 41. Each of the power nailers 40, 41 is supported from the main frame of the apparatus 10 for movement therewith adjacent a corresponding one of the plate 12 and sole 13, for driving nails horizontally through the corresponding plate or sole into a stud 14 being nailed. It is contemplated by the present invention that the power nailers 40, 41 may be any of various commercially available types, and the details of these components of the apparatus of the present invention form no part of the present subject invention. Preferably, the power nailers 40, 41 are of the type actuated by power fluid such as compressed air and responsive to being pressed against a surface for driving or firing a nail N. Thus, as one of the power nailers 40, 41 is brought into engagement with an outer face of the corresponding plate 12 or sole 13, a nail N is driven thereby through the plate or sole and into the end portion of an aligned stud 14.

It is preferred that the first and second power nailers 40, 41 be brought into nail firing position alternatively which, in the illustrated embodiment, is accomplished by mounting each of the power nailers on a corresponding one of first and second subframes each pivotally connected with the main frame of the apparatus 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the subframes include corresponding first and second subframe bracket members 42, 43 connected by appropriate hinges 46, 47 to the terminal end portion of the elongate transverse member 20. Movable with the bracket members 42, 43 about the pivot axe's defined by the hinges 46, 47 are upstanding cross connection brackets 48, 49 for a function to be developed more fully hereinafter. Additionally, manually engageable operating handles 50, 51 are also connected for movement with the brackets 42, 48 and 43, 49.

By means ofa cross connecting link member 52, pivotally connected to the upstanding brackets 48, 49, the subframes are operatively interconnected for coordinated movement of the subframes and the nailers 40, 41 between a first position where the first nailer 40 drives at least one nail through the plate while the second nailer 41 is withdrawn from the sole (FIG. 4) and a second position wherein the first nailer is withdrawn from the plate while the second nailer drives at least one nail through the sole. This operation is effected, by two cooperating operators, when one operator presses downward on the operating handles 50 adjacent the first nailer 40, while another operator on the opposite side of the table 11 raises the operating handles 51 adjacent the second nailer 41. This operation may also be controlled by a single operator through alternate depression and raising of handles on only one side of the table 11, through the provision of the link member 52.

As is known to carpenters skilled in the construction of rough framing for buildings, it is usually desirable to drive more than a single nail through the plate and sole into a stud, in order that the stud will be maintained in the desired relationship to the plate and sole. In the present invention, this preferred practice is accommodated by the provision of means for shifting the power nailers 40, 41 vertically relative to the plate 12 and sole 13 for driving of at least two vertically spaced apart nails into an end of the stud 14 being nailed. In the illustrated embodiment, this vertical shifting means comprises first and second fluid cylinders 54, 55, respec tively mounted generally within the upstanding brackets 48, 49. Each of the pressure fluid cylinder devices 54, 55 includes a corresponding piston rod 56, 57 arranged to act generally vertically and to engage a corresponding one of the plate 12 and sole 13 in addition to the stud 14 being nailed, through the provision of a corresponding pressing plate 58, 59. With the admission of pressure fluid to the cylinders 54, 55, the piston rods 56, 57 thereof are extended and retracted, to vertically shift the main frame of the nail driving apparatus 10 relatively to the plate 12, sole 13 and stud 14 being assembled. Such vertical shifting permits successive actuation of the power nailers 40, 41 to drive at least two vertically spaced apart nails (compare FIGS. 4 and 5).

From the discussion above, it is to be noted that both the power nailers 40, 41 and the vertical shifting pres sure fluid cylinders 54, 55 are actuated by direction of a suitable pressurized fluid thereto. In the illustrated embodiment (FIG. 8), air from a suitable air supply is directed through a pressure regulating valve R and passes under controlled pressure conditions into a man ifold defined by the transverse member 20. By means of conduits operatively communicating with the maniffold thus provided by the transverse member 20, pressure fluid is supplied through a manual safety valve 60 mounted on one of the handles 50 of the apparatus 10 for passage to the power nailers 40, 41. Each of the power nailers 40, 41 has a built-in control valve (illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 8) responsive to movement of the power nailer to a position for driving a nail as briefly described above. The provision of the manual safety valve 60 interposes a requirement that an operators hand be on the handle 50 of the apparatus 10 before driving of nails can occur, thereby promoting safety in use of the apparatus 10. The other of the bandles 50 has mounted thereon a shifting means control valve 61 (FIG. 8) which, when operated by an operator of the apparatus 10, admits pressure fluid to the shifting cylinders 54, 55 to move the main frame of the appara tus vertically relative to the plate, sole and studs being assembled as has been described heretofore.

The apparatus 10 of the present invention may be operated by either one or two operators, as may be dealigned with the plate and sole for displacing the apparatus therealong. Where a single operator is positioned to grip the handles 50 to one side of the table, a supplementary means in the form of a hand wheel 64 may be used to rotate a cross-shaft 65 and toothed driving wheel 66 positioned adjacent the other'side of the wall frame (FIGS. 13). A single operator may thus manually exert forces at opposite ends of the main frame of the apparatus for displacing the apparatus along the plate 12 and sole 13. While the means exerting forces, in the illustrated embodiment, are shown as means for manual exertion of forces, it is contemplated that power driven means may be provided if so desired. However, manual means are believed more readily compatible with useability of the apparatus and method of the present invention in a wide range of environments.

In the drawing and specification there have been set forth preferred embodiments of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for constructing rough wall frames for building construction comprising: a main frame; wheel means on said main frame for engaging an elongate plate and an elongate sole arranged in horizontal, parallel spaced relation for supporting said main frame on the plate and sole; nail driving means carried by said main frame for driving nails through the plate and sole on which said main frame is supported and into the ends of studs arranged between the plate and sole in horizontal, parallel spaced relation one to another, the studs being perpendicular to the plate and sole; and means carried by said main frame for exerting thereon forces moving said main frame from stud to stud along the plate and sole.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said main frame comprises at least one elongate member for transversely overlying the plate and sole in generally parallel relation to a stud being nailed and further wherein said wheel means comprises rotatable members depending from opposite end portions of said elongate member for engaging oppositely directed outer faces of the plate and sole in areas generally aligned with the stud being nailed and for restraining the plate, sole and stud in the arranged positions during the driving of nails.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said nail driving means comprises a first power nailer supported from said main frame for movement therewith adjacent the plate and a second power nailer supported from said main frame for movement therewith adjacent the sole, said first nailer driving nails horizontally through the plate into a stud being nailed and said second nailer driving nails horizontally through the sole into the stud being nailed.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 further comprising first and second subframes each pivotally connected with said main frame adjacent a corresponding end portion thereof for movement relative to said main frame, said first and second subframes carrying corresponding ones of said first and second nailers for movement with said subframes, and means operatively interconnecting said subframes for coordinated movement of said subframes and said nailers between a first position where said first nailer drives at least one nail through the plate while said second nailer is withdrawn from the sole and a second position where said first nailer is withdrawn from the plate while said second nailer drives at least one nail through the sole.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means for shifting said nail driving means vertically relative to the plate and sole for driving of at least two vertically spaced apart nails into an end of a stud being nailed.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for exerting forces moving the main frame comprises handle means at opposite end portions of said main frame for manual exertion on said main frame of forces in generally parallel directions generally aligned with the plate and sole for displacing the apparatus therealong whereby operators moving along the sides of the wall frame position the apparatus for operation.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for exerting forces moving the main frame comprises means at one end portion of said main frame for manual exertion on said main frame of forces in generally parallel directions generally aligned with the plate and sole for displacing the apparatus therealong whereby an operator moving along one side of the wall frame positions the apparatus for operation. 

1. Apparatus for constructing rough wall frames for building construction comprising: a main frame; wheel means on said main frame for engaging an elongate plate and an elongate sole arranged in horizontal, parallel spaced relation for supporting said main frame on the plate and sole; nail driving means carried by said main frame for driving nails through the plate and sole on which said main frame is supported and into the ends of studs arranged between the plate and sole in horizontal, parallel spaced relation one to another, the studs being perpendicular to the plate and sole; and means carried by said main frame for exerting thereon forces moving said main frame from stud to stud along the plate and sole.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said main frame comprises at least one elongate member for transversely overlying the plate and sole in generally parallel relation to a stud being nailed and further wherein said wheel means comprises rotatable members depending from opposite end portions of said elongate member for engaging oppositely directed outer faces of the plate and sole in areas generally aligned with the stud being nailed and for restraining the plate, sole and stud in the arranged positions during the driving of nails.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said nail driving means comprises a first power nailer supported from said main frame for movement therewith adjacent the plate and a second power nailer supported from said main frame for movement therewith adjacent the sole, said first nailer driving nails horizontally through the plate into a stud being nailed and said second nailer driving nails horizontally through the sole into the stud being nailed.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 further comprising first and second subframes each pivotally connected with said main frame adjacent a corresponding end portion thereof for movement relative to said main frame, said first and second subframes carrying corresponding ones of said first and second nailers for movement with said subframes, and means operatively interconnecting said subframes for coordinated movement of said subframes and said nailers between a first position where said first nailer drives at least one nail through the plate while said second nailer is withdrawn from the sole and a second position where said first nailer is withdrawn from the plate while said second nailer drives at least one nail through the sole.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means for shifting said nail driving means vertically relative to the plate and sole for driving of at least two vertically spaced apart nails into an end of a stud being nailed.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for exerting forces moving the main frame comprises handle means at opposite end portions of said main frame for manual exertion on said main frame of forces in generally parallel directions generally aligned with the plate and sole for displacing the apparatus therealong whereby operators moving along the sides of the wall frame position the apparatus for operation.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for exerting forces moving the main frame comprises means at one end portion of said main frame for manual exertion on said main frame of forces in generally parallel directions generally aligned with the plate and sole for displacing the apparatus therealong whereby an operator moving along one side of the wall frame positions the apparatus for operation. 